India trims the annual increase of HIV/AIDS cases by 57 per cent since 2000. But social stigma lives on.
The way HIV/AIDS is viewed medically has changed miraculously in the last three decades. Steady developments in medicine, and timely introduction of such medicines, mean that the disease is now considered fairly manageable and not much different from, say, diabetes. The National AIDS Control Organisation’s (NACO) programme, started in 1992, has made strides in managing the disease by providing treatment, testing facilities and counselling. More than 60 per cent of all HIVpositive individuals seek treatment from government centres, bringing them into a well defined system that provides anti retroviral therapy (ART) to those affected. Although there are still about 21.17 lakh people living with the disease in India, the number of new infections annually has gone down by 57 per cent since 2000. Yet, the associated social stigma has shown no signs of abating—patients continue to be ostracised even after all the awareness campaigns. It’s telling that not a single person we spoke to for this story wanted to be named or photographed.
This story is from the April 30, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the April 30, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Propaganda Files
A recent spate of Hindi films distorts facts and creates imaginary villains. Century-old propaganda cinema has always relied on this tactic
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle